School Dayz (Rewrite)
by jenkin
Summary: Luffy is a country boy from the mountains who recently moved to Tokyo to live with Shanks. Somehow Shanks managed to get him enrolled at the prestigious Newgate Academy. (This is a rewrite)
1. Chapter 1

Luffy walked around the crowded airport with his bag strapped around his shoulders. He sighed, he was lost already and he wasn't exactly sure where to go from here. "Where on earth is Shanks?" He grumbled under his breath. Shanks was supposed to meet him by the baggage claim, but he had yet to see the older man. He sniffed the air around him, inhaling the delicious aroma of fried wings which instantly made his mouth water and his stomach rumble with hunger. He turned around swiftly to find the source of the delicious smell only to come face to face with a familiar redhead holding up a bag of greasy wings with his trademark grin.

"Yo!" The redhead said handing Luffy the bag of wings.

"Shanks!" Luffy said excitedly as he bear-hugged him. Shanks put his hand on Luffy's head, "It's been a long time. You've grown so big." Luffy snuggled into the warm hand, as it reminded him of old times.

"Follow me," Shanks said. Luffy followed Shanks through the sliding glass doors of the exit at the airport and outside waited an old run-down car. Shanks unlocked the car with his keys and Luffy eagerly opened the passenger side to claim the front seat. He greedily opened the bag of wings and took out a steamy chicken wing before shoving wing after wing in his mouth. Shanks inserted his key into the ignition and turned it several times before the car finally started. He chuckled nervously, "It's a piece of shit, but I don't have the money to get a new one quite yet." Luffy just looked at him with his big almond eyes, as he munched on another wing, the state of Shank's car didn't matter to him one bit.

"How do you like it here in Tokyo so far?" Luffy stuffed another wing in his mouth and looked out the window.

"It's big and smelly," he said as he crinkled his nose. The smell of the city had been one of the first things he noticed when he arrived. Luffy had lived in the countryside his entire life where the air was fresh and clean, the exact opposite of the seemingly polluted city. Shanks laughed at that and turned into a parking lot in front of a run-down apartment building.

"Welcome to your new home. We live on the 2nd floor," Shanks parked the car and undid his seat belt. Luffy stared at the old rundown apartment building. _Man, what a classy place Shanks_ lives in. Compared to the Dadan's shitty shack, Shanks' apartment was high class. Luffy undid his own seat belt and opened the door. As he was stepping out of the car he noticed a girl with crimson orange hair in a polished school uniform, holding a wallet in her hand as she ran away from a man in a tailored suit. Luffy laughed since he thought it was funny, and because the girl was interesting. Shanks sighed as he saw the sight, "A lot of crime in these areas, be careful okay Luffy?" Luffy nodded as he the final chicken wing, finally satiated. Shanks locked the car and began heading towards the building, with Luffy following close behind. Shanks opened the door for Luffy, and they both snuck past the old landlady. Luffy tossed his empty bag in the trashcan as he entered the elevator.

"When do I start school again?"

"Tomorrow morning." Shanks laughed when Luffy began to pout. Luffy had wanted more time to get used to the area before he had to sit in a class with people he had never met before. "You can't skip school either, this place isn't like up in the mountains." Luffy sighed, Dadan had homeschooled him up until recently when it was decided he would go live with Shanks so he could graduate from a renowned high school in the city.

"I can tell, it smells a lot worse," Luffy said grumpily. Shank laughed and patted Luffy's head, "Don't worry, I think you'll end up liking it here Luffy." Luffy nodded, hopefully, the trip from the mountains would be worth it. The elevators opened and the two both walked out.

"We live here," Shanks said inserting the key into the lock. Luffy looked at the room number that appeared one second away from falling off the nails that held it up, _103_. Shanks opened the door and walked into the messy room, moving the trash that blocked his way. He guided Luffy to a small room, "This is your room. Sorry, it's so small it used to be a storage room. Your uniform is on the bed, and school starts at 7:30 so be sure to set your alarm or whatever you have because I'm not gonna wake you up. As long as you get decent grades in school you're free to do whatever you want." He watched as Luffy set his bag on the bed and took his wallet out of his pants and put it in his bag, as a safety precaution.

"I'm gonna go explore then! I'll call you if I get lost." Luffy walked past Shanks and out of the apartment. Shanks sighed, he was worried for Luffy. Luffy had been acting weird since the day Garp and Dadan died in a house fire. Shanks looked at the trash on the floor and then at the dirty dishes in the sink. He scratched the back of his head, _I don't live alone anymore so I better clean this place up while he's gone_.

Luffy looked up at the gray sky as he walked down the sidewalk. Luffy already did not like Tokyo very much so far. It was big, dirty, and smelly. There were also a lot of people who tried to sell things to him that he didn't want. He walked past his new school, Newgate Academy. He put his hands in his pockets as he took in the entirety of the school. Newgate Academy was a prestigious private school that schooled most of the Japanese elite's children. _How on earth did Shanks get me into this school_? Luffy saw a familiar orange headed girl sneakily climb over the gate and land gracefully on her feet. She slid some hair behind her ear and noticed Luffy for the first time, she smirked and walked away. Luffy laughed, _this girl is interesting_. It was around nine when Luffy finally managed to find the run-down apartment building again. Luffy knocked on the door to the apartment and patiently waited for Shanks to open the door. Shanks opened the door and groaned slightly at the light from the hallway. His hair was a mess and his outfit was wrinkled as if he has just woken up. Luffy walked in and smelled the unmistakable scent of one of his favorite meals, curry. He smiled and walked over to the pot the curry was in ready to eat the rest of the food inside.

"Luffy your key is on the table, I'm gonna go back to sleep."

"Night," Luffy said with a mouthful of food. After Luffy finished his food, he put the pot in the sink to soak, before he made his way back to his new room. Luffy changed out of his clothes and tossed them on the floor before he got into bed. He set an alarm on his phone and went to sleep. Luffy's groaned as his stupid alarm went off at and he slowly forced himself awake so he could take a shower. Luffy made his way to the bathroom down the hall. He undressed and turned on the shower to let the warm water heat up. He quickly washed his body with a rose-scented body wash and green-apple shampoo. _Shanks must really like girly soap_. Luffy rinsed the rest of his body off before he stepped out of the shower. He grabbed one of the towels from the rack before he hurriedly made his way back to his room. Luffy first put his underwear and pants on and then looked at the rest of the complicated uniform. Was he supposed to wear the gray sweater and the blazer-jacket or was it one or the other? Or, was he supposed to wear just the plain white button-down shirt and the weird string thingy? He sighed and put a white undershirt on and looked at the time, to find it was already seven. _I better hurry or else I'll be late_. Luffy quickly put on the white shirt and tied the string thingy into a knot around his neck. _I think this is how it goes_. Luffy walked out of the room and grabbed the bag Shanks prepared for him.

Luffy hurriedly put his shoes on and ran down the stairs, instead of taking the elevator. He ran the same route he took the day before and eventually ended up at Newgate Academy. He ran through the open gate looking at the line of several foreign cars that drove some of the kids to school. Luffy looked at the emblem on the bag Shanks had given him, to make sure he was at the right school. He ran his hand through his messy hair, _Man, school hasn't even started and I already don't fit in._ Luffy walked into the large school and asked a female student with long black hair and blue eyes where the office was. Luckily, she was kind enough to help him and to put the directions simple enough even he could understand them.

As he headed to the office, he noticed a guy with weird blonde hair bullying a guy with an abnormally long nose. Luffy watched for a moment longer, he would intervene if things started to get rough.

"You owe me money you brat," The blonde said to the quivering long nose as he grabbed the long nose's collar. That statement shocked Luffy, weren't most of the people at this school wealthy? He wondered if the blonde was the same as him, a transfer student of sorts.

"I-I don't have it with me today." The blonde formed his hand into a fist and raised it. A guy with dark hair grabbed the blonde's arm before he could punch the long nose.

"Come on Marco, let him off for today, or we'll be late." The blonde let go of the long nose's collar and walked down the hall with the dark black haired man. Luffy couldn't quite see the others face but he was glad he had intervened before things got bad. The long nose looked around and walked up to Luffy.

"A-are you Luffy?" Luffy nodded and wondered if the long nose had noticed him watch the previous event. "My name is Usopp, I'm the class president of our class. I'm supposed to show you the way to class." Luffy looked at the timid class president. _Man, he's wearing his sweater. I wonder if it's required._ He looked around inspecting the other's uniforms, they all had either a sweater or the jacket on.

"Is it required to wear a sweater as the uniform?"

"N-not necessarily," Usopp said as he looked Luffy up and down. Usopp turned his head but he kept sneaking nervous glances at Luffy.

"Something wrong? You hungry? I don't have any food on me so you'll have to get your own." Usopp flinched and timidly looked up at Luffy again.

"It's just that, you're very different from others." Luffy ran his hand through his messy hair, then looked at the class president again.

"How so?" Usopp looked up at Luffy then at the sign on the door.

"We're here," Usopp said quickly. He opened the door and hurriedly rushed to his seat. _What a weirdo._ Luffy gulped and walked into the big room. The teacher looked over at Luffy and smiled. He walked over to Luffy and stuck out his hand. The teacher wore a yellow and black hoodie with a weird symbol in the middle, regular blue jeans with dark rinse spots, and an extremely cool hat. He wore a white lab jacket but you could still slightly see his tattoos from underneath. All in all, he was what Luffy had least expected from a teacher at this kind of school.

"I'm the science teacher Trafalgar Law. You can call me Law-sensei." Luffy excitedly shook Law's hand. _What an interesting guy_. The teacher stared at Luffy and chuckled slightly when he saw Luffy's tie.

"You should fix that before you get in trouble," Law-sensei said as he pointed at Luffy's tie. Luffy looked down at the tie, slightly confused, he had been almost certain it was the right way to wear the string thing.

"Everyone this is Monkey D. Luffy, he will be joining our class as of today so be nice to him." He turned to Luffy and pointed to a seat next to a muscular green-headed jock with a slightly annoyed expression. "Your seat will be next to Zoro." Luffy walked over next to Zoro and sat in the empty desk. "Yosh, we'll pick up where we left off tomorrow so take your time and introduce yourselves to Luffy." The teacher walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. A black haired female student stood up and walked over to Luffy.

"My name is Nico Robin, nice to meet you." Luffy stared at her, he recognized her face from somewhere, but he couldn't quite remember.

"Are you the one from this morning? If you are, it's nice to see you again, Robin." She smiled, "I'm glad you remember me because,"

"Luffy! Come here, quickly," Usopp said motioning to him. "Sorry, Robin-san but it's my job to escort him around the school so I'll have to borrow him for a little while."

"No problem at all Usopp-kun, I'm glad you're taking your job more seriously." Usopp blushed and pulled Luffy out of the room. Luffy sighed and rubbed his belly. _Man, I'm starving. I didn't get to eat breakfast this morning either._

"Do you have any idea what you just did?" Luffy shrugged, _Is he talking about the string thingy?_ Usopp sighed and undid Luffy's tie before retying it the proper way. "You probably shouldn't talk to Robin-san anymore. She seems to have some kind of interest in you, which is extremely bad." Usopp smiled when he was finished fixing Luffy's tie. "Anyway she's the one Ace-senpai wants to date right now, and if he finds out she's interested in you then bad things will happen." Luffy shrugged, he could care less he wasn't interested in her like that. Usopp showed him the way to the rest of the classes on his schedule so that he wouldn't be lost with finding them on his own.

"Who's Ace?"

"Ace is the leader of our school, and he's also the head of a gang. Ace-senpai is also the son of Edward Newgate the owner of Whitebeard cooperation's and Newgate Academy."

"Really? Wow, he must be strong then." Usopp nodded, "He's extremely strong which is why you shouldn't get close to Robin-san." The bell rang and students flooded out of the classrooms. Luffy smiled as his stomach growled, _it's finally lunch time!_ "Where's the cafeteria?" Luffy said as he wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.

"It's close but you'd be better off sharing lunch with me. Ace-senpai and his buddies rule the cafeteria so no one ever actually uses it." Luffy grabbed Usopp's wrist and dragged him down the hall, completely ignoring his warning. Luffy dragged Usopp to wherever the delicious food smell was coming from.

"We're here!" Luffy shouted excitedly. Usopp struggled for Luffy to let him go, but Luffy was surprisingly strong, or maybe it was just that he was weak. Luffy opened the door and smiled when he saw the food.

"Stop! Don't go in there!" Luffy pulled Usopp into the cafeteria, "You're such a worrywart nobody's even here." Luffy walked up to the buffet they had and quickly filled several plates with food. He sat down at the table and motioned Usopp to sit next to him. _This is weird the cafeteria's completely empty_. His mouth watered, _more food for me._ Usopp looked around for signs of anyone coming. Usopp meekly walked over and sat next to Luffy who was now sloppily eating his food.

"Fuck those guys, leaving me alone like this," Ace mumbled. Ace walked into the cafeteria to see a terribly frightened nerd and a completely oblivious guy stuffing his face. _These guys sure are brave_. Ace's stomach grumbled, _whatever I don't care_. Ace walked over to the buffet and groaned. _Why is there only broccoli left? I fucking hate broccoli_. Ace sighed and walked over to the two sitting at the table.

"Oi, what the hell are you doing eating the whole buffet?" Luffy looked up but he didn't stop eating his food. Usopp about practically fainted at the sight of the freckled man in front of him. _Oh my god, it's Ace-senpai! He's going to kill us! I got to try and warn Luffy somehow_. Usopp tugged on the edge of Luffy's shirt to try and get Luffy to realize that the person before him was exactly who he warned him about.

"Who the hell are you?" Luffy said blatantly as he stuck another chicken leg in his mouth and looked up at the strange guy. The strange guy had black hair, freckles, and deep black eyes. He also wore a sweater with his uniform, _Usopp must have lied_. Ace looked down at the kid stuffing his face with food. The kid had messy hair with big eyes and he was just casually looking up at him. The kid looked up at him, smiled, and held out a chicken leg, "Sorry, I didn't think anyone else would eat." Ace stared at him for a second before taking the chicken leg and sitting down at the table. The kid was kind of cute in his own stupid way. Ace decided the hunger pains in his stomach warranted a free pass. Robin and Marco walked into the cafeteria to see the Ace and Luffy casually eating the food together and a terrified Usopp.

"Luffy, what are you doing here?" Luffy looked up at Robin and at the weird blonde guy he had seen in the hall. Marco looked down at Usopp and smirked.

"Eating," Luffy replied quickly as he stuffed some type of beef in his mouth. Ace grabbed a bread roll and a piece of ham off Luffy's plate. Robin sat down next to Ace and Marco sat on the other side. They both looked at Ace with curiosity in their eyes but said nothing. It was unusual for Ace to let something like this pass.

"So, your name is Luffy?" Ace questioned as he tore into another roll. Luffy looked up and nodded.

"Whachs yorsh?"

"Portgas D Ace." Luffy looked at Usopp and pointed at Ace.

"Thish is him?" Usopp nodded and nervously glanced over at Ace. Ace noticed the nerd kid look at him with fear in his eyes. Ace was almost positive he had never laid a hand on the other so he wasn't sure why Usopp was so incredibly nervous. _Could it be that he's the kid Marco taunts? Well, that was his fault for dropping that water bucket on Marco_. Ace looked at Luffy whose big innocent eyes were now somewhat cautious of him. Ace elbowed Marco and glared at him. It was Marco's fault Luffy was now acting cautiously of him when he was trying to learn more about the other. _Wait, why am I annoyed? I just met the kid, literally ten minutes ago_. Luffy looked up at Ace cautiously, preparing himself if he needed to defend himself. _I don't get it. Why is Usopp scared of him?_


	2. Chapter 2

"How was your first day of school?" Shanks asked from across the table. Luffy set his fourth empty bowl of ramen down and smiled.

"It was interesting! I made a new friend. His name is Usopp, he's also really weird and likes to worry a lot. I also met this nice girl named Robin." Luffy tried stealing Shank's ramen, but Shanks hit his hand with the chopsticks. Luffy sighed when he remembered how much homework he had. _Ace, huh?_ He seemed nice enough, after all, he didn't do anything out of the normal when they ate together. In fact, he hardly talked at all to them, instead focusing more on the food. So, why was Usopp so scared? Luffy shrugged, he didn't understand the hype Usopp told him earlier. Usopp was weird though, so that might be why he's so scared of Ace.

"So was the food tasty? I heard all the food in that school is made by a renowned chef. His name is Sanji I believe, I heard he used to work at this French restaurant the Baratie" Luffy nodded as his mouth watered at the memory of all the tasty food. He didn't know anything about the chef, but his food was truly amazing.

"They had this huge buffet, so some friends and I ended up eating the whole thing." Shanks laughed and took a sip of his soda. _I'm glad Luffy's having fun at his new school. I heard some rumors about this notorious gang member being in charge of the school, I'm glad they were just rumors._ Shanks raised his hand for the check and took another sip of his drink.

"So, do you have any homework today?"

"Lots and lots of homework," Luffy said grumpily. "I have a report to do on the human body, its due in two weeks. Usopp is gonna let me borrow his notes but it still kinda sucks."

"A report already?" Shanks laughed, "That really does suck."

"Apparently exams are coming up soon too." Luffy sighed, _the school work is also a lot harder than in the mountains_. Shanks paid for the food and they left from the ramen bar they were at. Luffy breathed in the air and frowned. He hated the smell of the air here, it smelled like smoke and gas exhaust. The air was completely different from the mountain's clean crisp air that he knew and loved. He was glad the ramen shop was only five minutes away from the apartment building. Luffy plopped onto his bed and sighed as looked at the time on the phone Shanks had given him. _So, I guess I have to do math homework for that mean teacher with the big red nose. I don't know how to solve any of those questions though. Maybe I should ask Usopp, he gave me his number I think._ Luffy stared at his phone for a second, as he realized he still wasn't entirely sure how to use it. He made himself a mental note to ask Usopp how to use it tomorrow. Luffy yawned as he sat up, he was tired and ready for bed. Luffy undressed and put on shorts and a big T-shirt as his pajamas.

Luffy turned off the light and crawled into the bed. He wrapped the covers around his body and relaxed his head on the soft pillow. He closed his eyes and remembered how Dadan used to scold him whenever he went to sleep late. Dadan was the mom he never had, even though she was strict and mean he loved her. He smiled when he remembered the time he put a worm in her shirt. Gramps would visit occasionally to check up on him and Dadan, but he was usually always away since he was a Vice- Admiral in the Navy. Luffy snuggled into his pillow, he promised Gramps he wouldn't ever cry if something bad happened, or if anyone died when he was little. That was a promise he made years ago, but that was the only promise Gramps had ever made with him, so he had every intention of keeping it. Luffy closed his eyes and ended up dreaming about the time Gramps threw him into the jungle and left him all alone.

Luffy opened his eyes when the tiger attacked him. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. _What a terrible dream_. Luffy looked at the time and groaned at finding it was five-thirty. Luffy sighed, at moment like these he would normally go on a walk and look at the starry mountain sky, but in the city, the stars weren't visible in the sky. He could do homework, but he'd been homeschooled by a literal mountain bandit. But that had apparently made way him behind his age group, even though he was the smartest in the village. He looked at the calendar he had hanging off his bedpost. It'd been six months since Dadan and Gramps died. He missed his brother Sabo he had back in the mountains, they were thick as thieves.

Luffy sighed, up in the mountains he didn't need a phone to talk to someone. He would simply walk over to their house since most everyone was usually up before daylight. _I don't even think Sabo has a phone. I wonder if I'll ever see him again if I do I'll tell him the air here is bad_. Luffy picked up a manga called SogeKing, it was pretty interesting. It was about a sniper who belonged to a pirate crew. Luffy finished reading his manga and got up to take a shower. There was no sign of Shanks anywhere in the small apartment. _How early does he get up?_ He looked at his reflection in the mirror and laughed when he remembered how he got the scar under his eye. Luffy had gotten the scar before he went to live in the mountains with Dadan. He gave it to himself trying to prove to everyone else he wasn't scared of pain.

Luffy sighed, it was only after he received the scar that grandpa started putting him in all the dangerous situations. He undressed and looked at his body in the mirror and flexed his arm muscles. He didn't have any of the big, bulging muscles like he wanted even though he helped everyone work in the village. For someone who ate as much as he did, he was actually pretty lean, which disappointed him. He turned the shower on and quickly stepped into the warm water. He could only ever take a shower because he had a deadly fear of water, he couldn't even swim. He quickly washed his hair and body and stepped out of the shower, now wide awake. _I should probably get there early so I can ask Usopp to help me with my homework._

Luffy picked up his pajamas and wrapped the towel around his waist. He combed his hair though it didn't help much and put his uniform on, this time with the dull gray sweater that came as part of his uniform. The sweater had the golden school emblem on the upper right side of the chest area. He picked up his tie and frowned, still having no earthly idea how to tie it. _I'll have Usopp help me with this as well_. Luffy picked up his bag and walked out of the apartment and locked the door with the key Shanks gave him before he put it back in his pocket.

It was an hour before school even started now, and Luffy was almost positive Usopp was not going to be at school that early _. I've got some time to kill. Maybe I'll get some food, but I don't have any money._ Luffy sighed as he felt the first hunger pains of the day. _I'm hungry though now. How on earth am I gonna make it till lunch? Man, Shanks didn't even make breakfast._ Luffy walked down the street and took the long route to school which only made him further think of how hungry he was. He stopped in his tracks as he saw Ace walk through the school gates. Luffy looked at his phone, it wasn't even seven yet what in the world was he doing here so early? Luffy shrugged, and rubbed his stomach, _even yesterday I had at least a granola bar and Usopp's lunch before we went to the cafeteria. He doesn't know that though since he thought he forgot it at home_. Luffy saw Ace look up at the blossom-less cherry tree outside the gate before he continued walking onto school grounds. _I'm so confused, what exactly is so bad about him?_ Luffy ran into the school and grabbed the edge of Ace's shirt to stop him before he got too far.

"Good Morning," Luffy said as he saw Ace's shocked expression before it turned into a warm smile. Luffy smiled back at him, _Yup, he seems like a totally nice guy_.

"Yo, Luffy what are you doing here?" Ace smiled down at him. He wasn't quite sure why, but he felt naturally comfortable around the younger even though they barely knew each other.

"I had a nightmare so I ended up waking up early," Luffy said. His stomach growled loudly and he rubbed his stomach to dull the pain. _Hang in there little buddy_. Ace smiled, at his childish antics, he had the uncontrollable urge to spoil the younger.

"Have you eaten breakfast already?" Luffy frowned and pouted, "No. I didn't have any money so I couldn't buy anything." Ace smiled, and couldn't help thinking the younger looked cute as he pouted. _Wait, did I just think he's cute?_ Ace looked at Luffy's face and chuckled slightly. _Well, he really is cute_.

"Do you want me to buy you breakfast?" Luffy's cute face lit up and he had the biggest smile Ace had ever seen. Luffy couldn't believe someone could be so nice, "Really? Thanks!"

"Yea, I usually get here early so that I can eat breakfast. I don't mind having company once in a while so if you'd like to join m-,"

"Thanks, Ace," Luffy said when he hugged him. Ace smiled Luffy was really too cute for words. Ace and Luffy made their way to the empty cafeteria to eat breakfast. Luffy sat down and took out his phone to check the time while Ace walked into the kitchen.

"Oi, Sanji get your ass up and make me and a friend some breakfast," Ace said kicking the sleeping chef. The blonde slowly sat up and looked angrily at Ace, "Huh, what do you mean? We don't serve breakfast Ace," Sanji said as he plopped back onto the flour sack bed he'd made.

"I don't care if you don't want to, just make it. He's a big eater so make a lot." Sanji sighed as he stood up, "Why'd you have to bring a man? You should've brought Robin-chwan~. Then I would be more inclined to waste cafeteria ingredients on a certain brat." Ace glared at Sanji, he clearly wasn't in the mood to be disobeyed. Sanji sighed," What do you guys want to eat?"

"I don't really care as long as it doesn't have broccoli. I'm sure Luffy would like a more traditional Japanese breakfast." Sanji nodded and put his white apron on over his black suit _. Ace must really like this guy. He has never once brought a friend to eat breakfast with him before._ Ace walked out of the kitchen and over to where Luffy was sitting before he took a seat across from him. "The chef said he would make something more traditional us to eat."

"Really? Thanks again," Luffy said with his toothy grin. "I've been meaning to ask you something. It's kinda embarrassing actually since we just met." Ace smiled if Luffy asked he would happily oblige. He didn't know why he'd go so far to stay friends with Luffy, but when he hung out with Luffy things were more interesting and fun.

"You're a junior right?" Luffy asked. Ace nodded and saw Luffy take out a notebook. "Can you help me with my math homework? I used to live in the mountains and I was never taught how to do these type of problems." Ace took the notebook and looked at the algebraic problems.

"Ah, just like I thought, you got Buggy as your math teacher. He always picks on the transfer students and gives them ridiculously hard questions for their homework. Here, they're actually really easy once you simplify it and apply this formula, see?" Ace showed Luffy the paper with the finished question. Luffy inspected it for a few minutes, "Wow you're right! Thanks again Ace!" Sanji walked out of the kitchen holding both of their meals. He set Luffy's tray in front of him and inspected him for a second, _this is the kid Ace is interested in?_

"Thanks! I've heard about you! Your food tastes amazing, it's the best I've ever eaten!" Luffy said smiling at Sanji. Sanji looked at Ace and smirked, _I think I understand why._ Sanji set Ace's tray in front of him only to receive a swift kick to the shin. The cook smiled at Luffy once more and walked away with a slight limp. _Damn cook acting so smug because Luffy smiled at him._ Luffy sloppily ate all of his food so he could finish his homework in time. Ace smiled, he really enjoyed watching Luffy eat he was just so cute in everything he did.

"Ne~ Ace. Do you have any idea why Usopp so scared of you?" Ace gulped at the question. Truthfully he probably could make a long list full of reasons why the nerd would be scared of him, there rarely was anyone who wasn't automatically scared of him. Ace casually took a drink of his water, he didn't want to lie to Luffy. But, if Luffy found out about all of the bad things he's done then Luffy would certainly not want to be his friend anymore.

"I have an idea why," he said taking another sip of his water. "A lot of people have spread some very nasty rumors about me out of jealousy. Like some people say I'm a gang member, that I've beaten up people, and am even the leader of the school in some way. People rarely approach me anymore because they believe the rumors are true. I don't mind it though since it enables me to eat in the cafeteria with all my friends." Luffy frowned, "That's terrible. At least you have one person who knows the truth." Luffy smiled, "Don't worry I'll never believe those mean rumors about you." Luffy was so pure and honest that it truthfully hurt Ace to lie to him. _Why am I feeling so bad about a simple lie? I've lied to anyone and everyone so why is he so different?_

"Thanks, Luffy it means a lot to have someone believe in me," Ace smiled.

"Crap, class is gonna start soon. We better hurry or we'll be late." Luffy packed up his things and thanked him for the meal before he quickly made his way to his classroom. Ace stayed in the cafeteria, he could care less about going to class. Sanji stayed in the kitchen, he could tell Ace was mad or at least annoyed about something. It was a bad idea to go near him if you did. then you'd end up in the hospital whether you were his friend or enemy. Several guys with bulky chains and gaudy hairstyles walked into the cafeteria.

"Oi, you're Portgas Ace right?" Ace cracked his knuckles. _Perfect timing. I needed to let off some stress._

"What's it to you?" The ruffians knocked Luffy's tray off the table, "You know exactly what we're here for you little shit. Don't start getting cocky just 'cause you managed to beat up some on my boys." Ace smiled, at the larger ruffian in front of him. _This is perfect, I can take these three idiots by myself_. The man he assumed was the leader spit on the floor in an attempt to taunt him. In reality, he really didn't need to be taunted anymore since he was itching for a fight anyways. Ace took leather gloves out of his pocket and calmly put them on. Normally he'd fight barehanded, but he didn't want Luffy finding out his secret, so from now on, he needed to make sure he didn't get any injuries. Ace stood up and raised his fists in boxing style stance.

"Do you really want to know why they call me, Firefist Ace?" The ruffian moved in closer and spit in Ace's face, "Don't get to cocky ya stupid punk."

Sanji peered out of the kitchen doors with a cigarette now in his mouth. He sighed as he took the cigarette out of his mouth as he took in the scene before him. _Why the hell did Ace have to make such a mess? There's blood every freakin' where it looks like a bloodbath._ ' Ace yawned and took off his bloodstained gloves. Surprisingly enough he didn't get blood on his uniform or receive injuries. Ace spat on the now unconscious leader and pulled his hair lifting up his head in the process.

"Oi, you alive?" The ruffian slowly opened his bruised eyes, "S-spare me," he whispered. Ace grinned, it always pleased him when the cocky ones begged him. "You work for me now. If you don't come to report to me in a months' time, I will make sure you wish you were dead." Ace looked down at his feet and kicked him in the stomach.

"You fucker. You actually dare to get blood on my shoes?" Sanji ran over to Ace, "Ace calm down don't kill him. I'll lend you my shoes so stop beating him. He's already passed out, you don't really want to kill him do you?" Ace looked at Sanji and sighed.

"Whatever, it should come out with water. Sanji, clean up this mess. I'll be eating with Luffy again for lunch. If I see ever the slightest drop of blood, then it's your head next." Ace walked out of the cafeteria whistling the Sogeking theme song. _I wonder if I'll be able to see Luffy before lunch_. Sanji looked down at the badly bruised bodies that lay unconscious on the floor. _Jeez, don't always make such a mess_. Sanji took another long drag off of the cigarette before he put it out with his foot. _First things first these guys need to get to the hospital_.


	3. Chapter 3

Luffy stumbled into the classroom, breathing heavily, he'd been running around the school like a madman trying to find his class. _Why the heck is this school so big? I got lost three times on my way here_. Usopp looked up from his book, "Luffy, where were you? I told you I'd wait for you at the gate and show you to class."

"What? You never said anything liked tha-,"

"Shut up assholes, I'm trying to sleep," grumbled the guy with green hair. It reminded him of a marimo. Luffy set his bag in his seat and looked at the board. Study Hall was scribbled in white chalk on the blackboard. _No wonder the classroom only had two people in it._ Luffy turned to Usopp, "Anyways, I met up with Ace and had breakfast with him this morning, which is why I wasn't there." Usopp's face turned a ghastly white color, "L-luffy, did you say A-ace?" Luffy nodded and took out his math notebook, "Yeah, he's really nice. He also helped me with my math homework." Usopp's face, if possible, turned even whiter.

"Luffy you should stay away from him, he's very dangerous." Marimo head lifted his head off his desk, "So the new kid likes hanging out with delinquents? That's interesting. I heard he sent three seniors to the hospital just this morning." Marimo head leaned back in his seat, clearly having given up on sleep after being surrounded by several loudmouth idiots. However, if the new kid really did know, Ace that made things even more interesting. Usopp nodded at Marimo head in agreement, having heard the same rumor. Luffy frowned, "That's impossible because I was with him all morning!" Marimo head shrugged, that didn't mean he hadn't sent others to the hospital before.

"Why are you guys so mean to him, spreading such awful rumors? He really is truly very nice." Marimo laughed, "That guy, nice? He has sent about half of the school to the hospital. He's nicknamed Firefist for a reason, and no those aren't rumors, I've seen him fight before. If you want to survive till the end of the year then you should stay away from him." Luffy frowned, the Ace he knew had treated him nicely since day one, but everyone was telling him differently.

"You only say that because you're scared of him yourself. I don't need to follow a scaredy cat's advice, you haven't even met him," Luffy stuck out his tongue towards marimo head.

"Are you trying to pick a fight, you little midget?" Marimo head leaned forward in his chair, glaring daggers at the smaller almond-eyed boy. _Oh my god, he's picking a fight with Zoro!_ Usopp grabbed Luffy's arm, "You should stop. Zoro was in the top ten in the national kendo competition, he's seriously strong." Luffy sighed, he liked Usopp, but he wasn't entirely convinced Ace was dangerous, and he didn't want some guy badmouthing his friend. "He's not any more dangerous than a wild boar," Luffy whispered back. Usopp's eyes widened, _did he really just compare that monster to a boar?_

"Oi, are you two princesses done having your little tea party?"

"Oh, sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but I'll have to decline your invitation. I have a promise with a very special someone that I would never fight with someone weaker."

"What'd you say?" Zoro grabbed Luffy's collar breaking the top button. Luffy stared at him, "Let go. It's a promise I can't break, I don't have time to fight with you." Zoro smirked, satisfied he won. He let go of Luffy's collar and leaned in real close so he could whisper into Luffy's ear.

"Your bitch must have trained you to be a good boy in Tokyo." Luffy gritted his teeth, he made a promise with Shanks to always smile and laugh off taunts and he promised Dadan before she died that he wouldn't get in any more fights. However, he would not tolerate this bastard talking about Dadan in such a matter.

"You better take that back," He growled. Zoro smirked, "Why? What ya gonna do about it?"

"I'm gonna make you take it back." Luffy could deal with any insults about him. But, if some asshole said anything about his friends or family he'd make them pay. Luffy clenched his hand into a fist, he was gonna make this guy regret ever saying anything about Dadan. Ace whistled the Sogeking theme song, _I heard Luffy's class has free period, I wonder if he wants to hang out._ Ace opened the door to Luffy's classroom, "Luffy, wanna hang ou-" Luffy turned his head to see Ace. He was sitting on the ground with Zoro in a tight neck lock, and Usopp was cowering in the corner. Zoro struggled to try and get out but Luffy had a firm neck lock.

"If you don't take it back soon you're gonna go unconscious." Luffy wanted to hurt him more, but it was Dadan's wish for him not to hurt people. So, he used his mildest move on Zoro. Zoro sputtered, still struggling beneath the smaller boy. _Fuck! What hell is up with this guy? Where the hell did that kind of strength come from?_ Zoro coughed, his vision was getting blurry.

"I-i g-give." Luffy let Zoro go. "Sorry," Zoro mumbled as he caught his breath. Luffy smiled and walked over to Ace, "Sorry you had to see that." Ace patted Luffy's silky hair and smiled. In a weird sort of way, he was proud. _I never would have thought my cute little Luffy was such a badass._ Luffy smiled and grabbed Ace's hand, "C'mon I have people I want you to meet." Luffy dragged Ace over to Usopp and Zoro, "This is Ace." Ace smiled warmly and waved at the cowering idiot, and the sword dude who just got his ass handed to him. _Shit, this is the worst possible situation_. The only good thing in this situation was that Luffy was holding his hand which made him oddly happy.

"Nice to meet you two." Zoro and Usopp exchanged glances and nodded in return. Luffy clapped his hands together, "Yosh, who wants to come with me and get ramen?" Ace smiled, as Luffy picked up his school bag. He was slightly disappointed Luffy let go of his hand, but he wasn't about to make a big deal of it with the other two present. Usopp picked up his bag, "I'll go with you. I haven't had ramen in forever." Usopp eyed the freckled boy who did appear genuinely nice at the moment. _Maybe the rumors aren't true. I was sure that since he was friends with Marco that they were true._ While it was true that Marco was an asshole, Ace had never actually participated in his bullying, instead actually summoning Marco to focus his attention on other things most of the time. _Maybe if I befriend Ace, Marco won't bully me anymore._ Zoro trudged back to his desk and set his head down on his bag in an attempt to get some much-needed sleep, "Do whatever you want," he grumbled. Ace smiled and put his hand around Luffy's waist, "Shall we go then?" Luffy smiled his trademark wide toothy grin at Ace, his new friends were definitely interesting.

"I know this Ramen place about ten minutes from here. Its name is _Bellemere_ , they got this yummy orange inspired ramen there," Luffy said excitedly. His mouth watered as he remembered his dinner with Shanks the other day.

"Then let's go there," Ace said simply. Intrigued by the fact this was his opportunity to learn more about the younger.

" _Bellemere_ , isn't that the one Nami owns?" Usopp chimed in as he walked beside Luffy, not quite daring to be by Ace's side yet.

"Who's Nami?" Ace and Luffy both asked simultaneously. Ace and Luffy laughed, "jinx," Luffy said quickly.

"She's the only one in our grade to get a full scholarship to go to our school. She has received special permission to work in the shop as long as she continues getting in the top five for the finals in our grade."

"I see, I wonder if she's there today. I don't think I've met her yet," Luffy was always excited to meet new people. Usopp shrugged, "I guess she might be, it is her job after all. She's pretty introverted though and doesn't talk much with others."

"Ah, there it is!" Luffy ran into the store. "Hello! I brought my friends with me just like I said," Luffy shouted. He watched the lady with pink hair turn around and smile, "I don't see them." Luffy turned around and noticed Ace and Usopp weren't there. He ran out of the shop and dragged them both inside, "Here they are, I wasn't it lying." She chuckled, "All right then, the ramen is on the house for today. Just make sure they come back again!" An orange headed girl walked down the stairs. "Bellemere, we're never going to make any money if you keep giving away free ramen." Luffy pouted, "my free ramen," he mumbled rubbing his stomach as if it genuinely hurt from hunger. Ace chuckled, _he's just too cute_. Bellemere smiled apologetically, "Sorry, Nami, I made a deal with him the other night that if he brought in new customers he would get free ramen." Bellemere looked over at the pouting Luffy, then back at Nami.

"C'mon Nami have a heart. They are valued customers whether they have money or not." Nami crossed her arms, she clearly didn't agree, "No, in this world the only way to survive is to have money. If you keep giving the food away we won't make any profit, then how will we pay our taxes?" Ace sighed, "Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore we'll just pay." Luffy tugged on Ace's shirt, "I don't have any money," he whispered quietly.

"I'll treat you," Ace said simply. Luffy smiled and leaned in close so he could whisper into Ace's ear. "Thank you, again," he whispered. Ace smiled and took his wallet out of his back pocket. He took out a ten thousand yen bill, "This should be enough right?" Bellemere and Nami looked at Ace with their mouths open. "What? Not enough? I have more if so," He said taking out several more bills.

"Woah, Ace hold on. The ramen here only costs 800 yen," Luffy said tugging on Ace's shirt.

"800 yen?" Ace said in disbelief. He chuckled, "You mean 8,000 yen?" Luffy sighed, _'I forgot that he's totally loaded. No wonder he's so willing to treat me._ Usopp took out his wallet, and took out another 10,000 yen bill, "Yea, Luffy you're missing a zero." He stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Luffy walked over to Bellemere and asked her for the menu.

"Okay look, normal people wouldn't even think about buying an 8,000 yen ramen bowl. Here, in this side of town, the ramen only costs 800 yen." He said pointing at the price. Usopp and Ace stared at the menu, both dumbfounded.

"I've never had ramen that cheap," Ace said as he took the menu to make sure that a zero hadn't been rubbed off to trick him. Usopp nodded his head in agreement with Ace, "I don't have less than 10,000 yen bills." Ace looked at Usopp, "Me either." Ace put the money back into his wallet and took out his black card, "Do you guys take cards?" Bellemere nodded slowly wondering who the hell the kids in her restaurant were, "What would you guys like?"

"I want beef ramen," Ace looked towards the younger, "what about you, Luffy?" Luffy smiled, "I want the house special ramen." Usopp also took out his card, "I'll have the house special with extra chicken." Bellemere quickly made all three types of ramen and set them down in front of the students, "here you go boys." Nami watched the three boys happily eat their food. _That uniform belongs to Newgate Academy. What are three rich kids doing here?_ Ace took a few bites of his ramen, _I don't really like this. The one our chef makes is much better than this crap_. Luffy turned to him and flashed him another bright smile as he continued sucking down his noodles, "Ish it good?"

"Delicious," Ace said as he slurped up another few noodles. Luffy set his empty bowl and leaned back cradling his full stomach happily. He looked to see that Usopp had already finished his ramen as well. Ace slurped up another few noodles, _this shit sucks_.

"Sorry guys I gotta go," Usopp said suddenly while looking at his phone.

"What, why?" Luffy said, surprised at the sudden outburst. Usopp smirked, "I just got a text from my girlfriend saying she wants to meet me." Luffy's mouth opened wide, "Y-you have a girlfriend?" Usopp nodded and showed Luffy her picture, his nose possibly sticking out a little longer than it had previously. She had pale light skin and blonde hair, and Luffy's eyes widened to see that she was actually pretty, "Is she a foreigner?"

"Her name is Kaya and she's the love of my life," Usopp said happily. He looked at the time, "Sorry guys gotta go." Luffy sighed and put his head down on the table, "Man why don't I have a girlfriend? You two are so lucky. Having a girlfriend must be nice. I want to fall in the love, and well you know~" Ace continued to slowly eat what he considered swill as he looked at the solemn boy _. I never imagined Luffy would ever be interested in girls. I don't know what I'd do if he ever got a girlfriend._

"I don't know what you mean, but I don't have a girlfriend." Ace drank a sip of water to get the awful taste out of his mouth and set his chopsticks down. He had finally finished eating that dreaded ramen. Luffy turned his head to look at where Ace sat, a small pout of confusion apparent on his face.

"Aren't you dating Robin?" Ace raised an eyebrow, "I don't know where you heard that but Robin and I are only childhood friends." Luffy huffed, "Still, you at least have a chance with her. Unlike you who's handsome and stylish, I'm just a poor boy from the mountains, no girl would ever want to date me." Nami walked over to Luffy and refilled his cup with Dr. Pepper. She accidentally bumped the cup with her hand and the content of the cup spilled over towards Luffy, soaking his uniform in the dark liquid. Luffy sat up almost instantly at the sudden wetness, frowning at the stain on his uniform.

"Luffy!" Ace was by his side in a second with napkins trying to tap away the stain.

"Oh my! I'm sorry I didn't me too. Please forgive me!" She hid the smile on her face with her hand when she pretended to be gasping. _Hmph, he deserves it._

"It's okay, calm down. You should try and be more careful in the future though." Luffy gave her a small smile so she would relax a bit more, sometimes accidents just happen. He stood up and inspected his uniform, it had completely stained his gray sweater and his pants. Luffy sighed, he wasn't sure how he was going to explain what happened to Shanks

Ace looked at the boy worriedly, "Are you alright? Do you have a spare uniform?"

"Yeah I'm fine it's just liquid. I was just hoping to make this uniform last throughout high school. We could barely afford to buy it, I don't know what I'm gonna do." Ace shrugged, "You can have my old uniform. I think I still have the one that I wore when I was a freshman."

Luffy pouted at that. "But, you always help me. I don't want to keep mooching off you."

"I help you because I want to, so don't worry about it. It might be a little big though." Luffy nodded and picked up his bag, "Do want to come over to my house? I need to take a shower and change." Ace picked up his bag and followed Luffy out of the small ramen shop, "How far is your house?"

"It's right there," Luffy said pointing to the apartment building. _Luffy lives in that shabby apartment building?_ Luffy led Ace inside and up to room 103. _I wonder if Shanks is home yet. Oh right, he told me he'd be stuck at work for a few days and not to worry about him last night._ Luffy unlocked the door and turned on the light to the room. He took off his shoes and led Ace to his room. _This tiny thing is his room?_ Ace set his bag on the floor and sat on the bed as looked around the small space, _my room alone is bigger than this apartment_. Luffy set his bag down on the floor and took his vest off.

"L-luffy what are you doing?"

Luffy looked towards Ace, "Changing? I'm gonna take a quick shower, I hope you don't mind." He undid his tie and let it fall to the floor as he slowly unbuttoned his stained white shirt. The shirt easily slid off his shoulders revealing his tan chest. A pink blush spread across Ace's freckled face. He cursed himself for acting like a virginal maiden, he wasn't even gay so why was he acting like such. Luffy smirked when he noticed Ace's gaze, "Check'in out my awesome muscles?" He flexed as he over exaggerated his muscles to impress his friend. Luffy walked over to Ace and ran his hand down Ace's chest lightly, affirming his suspicions that Ace was ripped. He sighed, "I wish I had big muscles like you though. I don't know why, but I just can't get those types of muscles." Ace's face continued to heat up at the light touch, but the hand was away as quick as if had come. Luffy undid his belt and slid his pants down over his ankles. He sat down on the bed next to Ace and took his socks off. He looked up at Ace with his big eyes, "Something wrong? Your face is red."

"I-is it? I wonder why? Maybe, I'm catching a cold?"

"Really? If you feel sick feel free to lay down on the bed and take a nap." Luffy walked out of the room in his white briefs, with a towel over his shoulder, and closed the door behind him. Ace flopped down on the bed, holding a hand over his racing hand. _Shit, I totally didn't see that coming._


	4. Chapter 4

Ace opened his eyes to see Luffy on the bed next to him. Luffy's hair was slightly damp and he was now wearing a big red t-shirt and shorts. Ace smelled the air, noticing the particularly sweet aroma exuding from the younger. _He smells good, for a guy_.

"Yo! You finally woke up. Are you gonna stay the night? If you are, we'll need to make dinner." Ace groaned, "When did I fall asleep? What time is it?" Luffy shrugged and looked at the phone for the time, "It's about seven thirty." Ace rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he took out his phone, _Dad doesn't really care where I am as long as I'm not kidnapped. I'll tell Thatch to get my spare uniform out for Luffy._ He quickly texted his butler and put the phone back in his pocket. Ace smiled, "Guess I'll spend the night then."

"Cool! You're the first friend I've had over since I moved to Tokyo. I'm so excited!" Ace smiled, Luffy's excitement was contagious. He blushed, at the memory of shirtless Luffy before he had fallen asleep. He shook his head, _I like Luffy, but I don't like him like that_. Luffy walked out of the tiny room, presumably on a mission for more food. Ace sighed, _Am I really gay?_ He furrowed his brow in thought at that, he had never been physically attracted to a man before. _Luffy, is like, the precious little brother I've always wanted._ _Wait, I don't even know if I like men._ Ace frowned, _why I am so confused?_ Luffy walked back into the room holding a red juice box in hand.

"We don't own another futon, so you'll have to sleep with me. I brought you a juice as an apology," He said as he handed Ace the juice box. Ace put the small straw in and took a sip, "I like it, thank you." Luffy smiled, "You're welcome!"

"Luffy! I'm home!"

Luffy perked up at the sound of the voice, "Shanks?" Luffy grabbed Ace's hand and ran out of the room. "Shanks!" Shanks took off his jacket and scarf and put them on the coat rack, "Oh, Luffy you brought a friend home?" Luffy nodded smile wide on his face as he continued to hold onto Ace as if he would disappear if he let go. Ace felt his face heat up at that, _Why the heck am I freaking out?_

"You're home early! I thought you were supposed to be gone for several days!"

Shanks grinned, "Yeah, I solved the case I was working on so my boss let me head home early." Luffy looked at him in awe, Shanks was so cool! He noticed Ace, begin to fidget beside him, _I wonder if he really is sick._

"Shanks, this is Ace. Ace, this is Shanks, he's my caretaker." Shanks held out his hand, "Nice to meet you." Ace let go of Luffy's hand and shook Shanks', eager to make a good first impression," The pleasure is all mine."

"Have you guys eaten yet? I have the ingredients for hotpot if you haven't eaten anything yet." Luffy shook his head wildly, "We haven't yet! I was wondering what we were gonna eat since we're out of food, and you left me no money to buy anything." Shanks gaped at that, "Wha- you mean you haven't eaten anything at all today?" Luffy shook his head and smiled, "Ace treated me to breakfast and lunch! He's a really good friend!" Shanks smiled and patted Ace on the shoulder, "Thank you." Ace took in everything about the other in confusion, _this guy is Luffy's father? They don't look anything alike. Well, Luffy refers to him by name so maybe an Uncle?_ Shanks took his wallet out and handed Luffy a couple of bills, "This should last you for a while." Shanks walked into the kitchen, "You guys can go hang out or whatever you want to do, it'll take a little while for the food to be ready."

"Okay, well we're gonna go on a quick walk over to the park, and hang out for a little while."

"Be back in an hour," Shanks yelled from the kitchen.

"Okay!" Luffy led Ace out of the apartment complex and over to a nearby park. Luffy put his hands behind his head as he whistled whilst walking. Once they arrived he took a seat on one of the swings and looked up at the starless sky. "In the mountains, you can see stars everywhere." Ace sat down next to him, "I've been to the mountains before. When I was a little kid I lived in the mountains with another family. I don't remember the details very well since it was before I was adopted by my father."

Luffy swung his legs back and forth in the aim to get as high as possible. "You and I have a lot in common. I used to play with my friend Sabo and this boy when I was younger. He was very wild and fun, a lot like what I imagined a big brother to be. I don't know what his name is though, so when he disappeared I could never find him. He used to always hang around this area we called Grey Terminal or he would dine and dash in a town called Goa. I used to accompany him with my friend Sabo, it was the most fun I've ever had. We even swore to be brothers with each other using the old sake Dadan had hidden from us." Luffy laughed, "I got into so much trouble with grandpa when he found out all of the mischievous things we did together." Ace looked at Luffy, surprised written all over his face. _Is it really him?_

"Luffy, did you use to live with a curly orange-haired lady and a vicious grandpa? Were you also friends with a blonde kid?" Luffy looked at him curiously, "How did you know?" Ace stood up and grabbed Luffy's shoulders, inspecting his face, _He certainly looks like the kid I met years ago, that's probably why I was so nice to him. It's really him, isn't it?_ Ace smiled and hugged Luffy, _It is him_.

"Ace? What's wrong are you sick?" Luffy patted the others back as he awkwardly accepted the sudden show of affection coming from the other.

Ace pulled back, a wide grin on his face, "Luffy, do you remember anything else about the kid you met several years ago?" Luffy nodded, "Of course I do, he had black hair, and dark eyes, with lots of freckles. He was kinda mean when I first met him though, but he warmed up to me." Ace stood back and looked into Luffy's eyes. "He actually looks a lot like yo-" Luffy's eyes widened.

"Did he spit on you the first time you met him?" Luffy's mouth opened and his big eyes got even wider. _It couldn't be, could it?_ He looked up at the other, scanning his face, how else could Ace know all of the things he'd done with the kid in the past if he wasn't his long-lost big brother?

"Is it really you?" Luffy tugged on Ace's shirt and looked at him with teary eyes, "It's really you?" Luffy closed his eyes tightly so he wouldn't cry. _I never thought I'd ever meet him again._ Ace hugged Luffy tightly, not wanting to let go again. It'd been so long since he had a little brother, he didn't think he'd ever be able to see him again. Luffy snuggled into Ace's chest, _It's really him isn't, grandpa? You told me he died in a fight in Grey terminal_! Luffy gripped the sides of Ace's shirt tighter, he was no longer alone anymore. _If only gramps were alive, I have so much to ask him._ Ace pet Luffy's fluffy hair quietly as he simply took in the other boy. Luffy had always been a crybaby, ever since they were young. Eventually, Luffy calmed down enough that he let go of Ace's shirt and wiped his eyes quickly, "I think hot pot is almost done."

Ace grinned and helped Luffy to his feet. "I can't believe we were able to meet again," Ace said putting his arm around Luffy's shoulder. Luffy nodded and wide smile spread across his face to match Ace's, "Yeah I'm so happy Ace is my brother! I never would've thought I'd meet you again by coming to Tokyo. "Ace smiled relief in his chest at the epiphany of why he couldn't stay away from the younger _. So I do like Luffy, but those were only the feelings of brotherly love. I'm glad I'm not gay._ Luffy was giddy with excitement, his long-lost brother had been found, "I can't wait to tell Usopp and Sabo!" Ace smiled, he liked that he had his precious little brother back.

"Speaking of Sabo, how is he? The last thing I remember was fighting with that gangster Bluejam with Dadan, how is she by the way?"

Luffy looked down at his feet, the smile disappearing from his face. "Sabo is doing fine, I think. However, Dadan and gramps died in a house fire, which is why I moved here to live with Shanks." Ace frowned, _the old man and Dadan died? How on Earth could two of the strongest and most stubborn people die?_ Ace sighed chest heavy at the revelation. He did have feelings for them, they were his caretakers since he was first born, Dadan would always be his mother figure, and Garp would always be respected. Despite all of our fighting I really did love them.

"I'm sorry Luffy, I didn't know."

"It's all right I'm fine now. Shanks told me that we're gonna visit their graves tomorrow since it's Dadan's birthday, he said it'd be the right thing to do." Ace gulped, "Do you mind if I come with you two? I'd really like to visit them since it's been so long."

Luffy nodded,"Sure, the more the merrier you know! They would love to see you again too!" He opened the door to see the steaming hotpot on the table and Shanks staring at a newspaper, with a cigarette in his hand. Shanks looked up, "Oh, you two took a long time I was beginning to worry." Shanks tapped the ashes into the ashtray and put the cigarette in his mouth.

"That's because we found out we're brothers," Luffy said sitting down as Shanks looked up from his newspaper in shock. "He lived in the mountains with Dadan and Gramps way before I did. When Gramps took me into the mountains we became brothers! Exciting right? I never thought I'd ever get to see Ace again! He's also gonna come with us to visit Dadan and Grandpa!" Shank's mouth opened into a gasp, "You guys are brothers?! But I totally thought Ace had a serious cru-" Shanks stopped when he noticed Ace's glare. Ace sat down next to Luffy and smiled, "Well, it was my idea to drink the sake with Luffy and Sabo." Shanks put out his cigarette, "I'd heard about Sabo and Luffy becoming brothers but I didn't know there was another one."

"That's because you never met him. Gramps told me he died in Grey Terminal. You don't know how depressed Sabo and I were after grandpa told us that. We could never talk about him so I forgot his name." Ace frowned, so that was why Luffy never came looking for him. _Why did the old man tell them I died?_ Luffy turned to him, "What did happen, Ace? How did you disappear?"

Ace sighed, "Well, I was kidnapped by some of Bluejam's thugs, but I still managed to beat them up! However, they had taken me to Tokyo and I had no idea where I was so I didn't know how to get back to the mountains. I didn't even know how to read a map so I got lost and ended up breaking into some rich guy's house. I was caught almost immediately, but after seeing how dirty and beaten up I was, he let me stay there for a few months before officially adopting me." Ace looked at Luffy who was gobbling up the hot, yummy meat as he listened intently to the story. Ace turned his attention to the hotpot, ready to fight off Luffy for more meat just like they used to. He grinned at how even after so long Luffy was still the same. Unfortunately, he was too late in finding Luffy, because the old man and Dadan passed without him even knowing.

"Ah~ that was a good meal! Thanks, Shanks!" Luffy burped at the feeling of a warm meal filling his stomach. He stood up and grabbed Ace's hand, dragging him into his room. "I'm sleepy, so you have to go to sleep too."

"You're sleepy? It's only nine." Luffy frowned, "I like to go to bed early, simple as that." He dug around in his dresser drawer, "Here, you can wear these, they should fit you and they're comfy." Ace quickly took off his hot uniform, and neatly folded the pieces and made a small pile. Luffy stared at him the whole time he finally opened his mouth and walked over to Ace, "Do you work out? If not, how do you get muscles like that?" He flexed, "Even when I flex my muscles aren't as big as yours. Dadan told me girls like guys with muscles. It seems that no matter what I do, I just can't get big muscles." Luffy was clearly disturbed by the fact he didn't have big muscles.

"Well," Ace said slipping on Luffy's shirt and shorts. "A lot of the women like strong guys, like me, then again a lot also like sweet guys like you." Luffy frowned, "I wanna be strong, not sweet," he grumbled. He crawled into the bed and turned his back to Ace. Ace couldn't help but chuckle at his childish behavior.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to meet a nice girl who loves and cares for you." The moment Ace said those words he regretted it. His chest felt heavy at the thought of Luffy with some girl. But before he could dwell on it too much Luffy turned around and smiled, "Do you really think so?" Ace smiled and nodded, fully determined to break up anything of the sort if for whatever instance a girl did fall in love with Luffy. He frowned, confused at why he would want to do that before he crawled into bed next Luffy.

"Ne~ Ace do you remember what we used to do when we used to sleep together." Luffy leaned forward and kissed Ace's forehead, and giggled at his surprised expression.

"W-why on e-earth did you do that?" Luffy shrugged, "Don't you remember? It was a goodnight kiss, you used to always give them to me before I went to bed to help me sleep better." Ace blushed, _I most certainly don't remember ever doing that!_ Luffy frowned, "It's your turn now."

"A-aren't we a little too old for this?" Luffy shrugged, "Really? If you say so, I thought it was all right since we hadn't done it in a really long time." Luffy looked at Ace with his big eyes and a slight frown on his lips. Ace let out a small huff, but leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead, "T-there happy?" Luffy smiled and nodded before rolling around the other way. Ace was only grateful for the darkness sparing him the embarrassment of the younger noticing the blush on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Ace slowly sat up and rubbed his tired eyes with a scowl on his face. He yawned and laid back down, _I'm not very good in the mornings_. Ace closed his eyes again and wrapped his arms around the warm figure lying next to him. He leaned forward and inhaled the sweet scent of freshly shampooed hair and let his hands slide up the shirt of the person sleeping next to him. It was probably just another girl he had brought back home with him after a long night. He let his fingers roam the other's figure to land on a particularly flat chest. _Wait, wasn't I staying over at Luffy's place?_ Ace opened his eyes, suddenly wide awake at that thought, "Luffy?" He fell back in shock and retracted his hands as fast as possible. The sudden movement threw off his balance and he landed on the floor with a loud thud, hitting his head on the floor in the process. Ace groaned at the pain of the bump already swelling on top of his head.

"Ow, that hurt." Ace sat up to see the sleeping figure slowly sit up and rub his eyes, as he had previously done, "What is it Ace?" Luffy let his shirt fall back down to his stomach and looked at the time with a small frown on his face. "It's only seven, go back to sleep." Luffy dramatically plopped his head back onto his pillow and almost instantly fell back asleep. A pink blush spread across Ace's freckled face as he came to the realization of just what exactly he had done. _D-did I just molest Luffy_?! He stood up and paced the room in a slight panic. _I can't believe I just did that! What's wrong with me? I just molested my brother!_

Luffy slowly opened his eyes again at the sound of movement, "What's wrong? Go back to sleep." He patted Ace's side to beckon him back into bed. Ace stood there a moment in quiet contemplation before he slowly crawled into the bed. He let his head fall onto the pillow and closed his eyes again and tried to calm himself down. _It's okay, Luffy didn't seem to notice. Besides, I was half asleep, any normal male would've done something like that in the morning if they thought they were beside a hot girl._ Ace slowly drifted into sleep again, and so did Luffy.

Shanks slammed the door open, a few hours later, "Wakey wakey love birds we gotta go." He looked at Luffy who had his arms wrapped around Ace this time. Shanks laughed at the comical scene, "You guys should start getting ready." Luffy slowly opened his eyes, climbed over Ace and walked out of the room. Ace kicked the covers off that he was trapped underneath and walked aimlessly to the bathroom. Luffy was brushing his teeth when Ace walked into the bathroom. Ace chuckled when he noticed Luffy's wild bedhead, "Luffy your hair is sticking straight up." Luffy yawned after he was done brushing his teeth and looked into the mirror to see the damage the bed had done to his hair. He fruitlessly ran a comb through his hair but the bedhead wouldn't go away.

"Try wetting the comb with water that might help." Luffy wet his comb with water and combed his hair once again. His face lit up after his unruly curls seemed like they had finally been tamed.

"Oh! It worked! Thanks, Ace! You're a really awesome brother!" Ace gently took the comb out of Luffy's hand and brushed his own hair.

"What time are we going to leave?" Luffy shrugged, not knowing the exact answer before he walked out of the bathroom, "Oi, Shanks what time are we leaving?"

"At noon so we can get halfway there around six and travel the rest of the day." Ace walked out of the bathroom, "Why don't we just take one of my private jets? It'll be a lot faster and won't cost any money." Luffy and Shanks looked at Ace, "You have a private jet?!" Ace nodded, slightly embarrassed at their reaction. Shanks' jaw dropped, "Luffy, your brother is rich?" Luffy nodded, "This guy tried to buy an 8,000 yen ramen yesterday." Shanks laughed, "Nyahaha 8,000 yen ramen?" Ace blushed, suddenly feeling out of his element, "Do you want to ride the jet or not?" Luffy and Shanks laughed as Ace continued to get embarrassed. Luffy hugged Ace, "Thanks! I'm looking forward to going back to the mountains with you!" Ace smiled softly at that and patted Luffy's fluffy hair.

"Just give me a minute, I'll call my butler and tell him to get to jet ready. I'm pretty sure my father took the big one, so we'll just have to deal with the smaller one." Ace walked into the other room and took out his phone to call Thatch.

"Yo! Is this Ace?" Ace sighed, "At least act like a butler. Have one of the pilots prepare the private jet, I'm going to the mountains with my brother."

He heard a pause on the other side of the phone, "Your brother? But Ace-san you don't have a br-"

Ace rolled his eyes, "Yes I do, you'll find out later. Have you prepared uniform?"

"Yes the uniform is ready, I just picked it up from the dry cleaner's this morning. About the plane your father is using the big one, so is the small one sufficient enough, Ace-san?"

"Yeah, just have it ready by the time I get there."

"Very well, anything else you need? Shall I send the car to you? What is your location?"

"Yeah go ahead and send the car, we're only about five minutes away from the school in this small apartment building not far from the Bellemere ramen shop."

"Very well, the car will be there shortly."

"Good," Ace said as he hung up. Luffy was sitting on the floor in the dining room reading the _Sogeking_ comic.

"I really like this manga, It's really cool! Have you read it before?" Luffy held the manga up so Ace could see. Ace inspected the cover, "I've seen the anime but I haven't read the manga yet. The theme song is really catchy, have you heard it?" Luffy shook his head, "What's it sound like?" Ace whistled a tune that sounded a lot like Luffy's favorite song, _The very very strongest._

"That's so cool!" Luffy tried whistling the tune but no sound came out, "Man, I suck at whistling." Ace chuckled before his cell phone rang, "Hello?"

"The car is out front Ace-sama."

"Okay, we'll be out in a minute." Ace looked at Luffy, "I have a car waiting up front. It'll take us to my house. We'll have to wait a little while for the jet to be prepared." Luffy nodded, "Shanks it's time to go." Shanks looked up from his phone and wrote something down on a piece of paper.

"Something urgent happened at work that I have to take care of, so you two boys can go without me. I can trust you two to be responsible right?" Shanks looked towards Ace and Luffy as they nodded. He bit his lp, if Ace was the type of rich kid he knew that meant there would always be a security detail following closely behind the two, so everything should be fine if they were left alone.

"We'll be going then," Luffy yelled back to Shanks as he put his shoes on in the entrance way. Ace quickly picked up his uniform and put his shoes on too. _So, Luffy and I are going to be alone?_

"C'mon," Luffy hollered from down the hall. Ace gently closed the door behind him and ran to catch up with Luffy who was sprinting away. "We're racing like the old days! Bet you can't beat me anymore!"

"Don't count on it!" Ace jumped in front of Luffy who was hastily making his way down the stairs. Luffy's mouth gaped at that as Ace quickly took the lead. Ace and Luffy both fought each other as they exited the apartment building, but Ace made it to the limousine first. He pummeled straight into Jozu, the driver, who had holding the door, but that didn't matter since he won.

"I won, Luffy!" Luffy lay on the side walk breathing heavily, "W-why are you such a fast runner?" Ace grinned there was no way in hell he was about to let Luffy best him after so many years. Jozu stood up quickly from where he had fallen after being knocked down, he always was a sturdy man.

"Ace-sama please get into the car, Thatch is waiting for your arrival with freshly made treats for your friend."

"Snacks?" Luffy quickly got into the car, "Hurry up Ace!" Ace smiled and handed his uniform to Jozu to preferably give to Thatch once they arrived. Jozu looked at Luffy, _Is that kid really Ace-sama's brother?_ Jozu closed the car door and got into the driver's seat.

"Take us home quickly," Ace commanded as he handed Luffy one of the sweets they had in the bar of the back seat. Jozu nodded and drove down the street towards Ace's mansion.

"Woah, Ace, you really are rich huh? This is the first time I've been in such an expensive car!" Ace chuckled, "It's mainly my father who is rich, but I've been doing well with my stocks so hopefully things continue to go well."

"Will I get to meet him? Your foster father, I mean." Luffy looked at him with such hopeful eyes it almost hurt for Ace to have to crush it.

"No, he's in Europe on a business trip, he'll be gone all month." Luffy frowned, "That's too bad I really wanted to meet him." Jozu stopped the car in front of a huge gate before he pressed a remote which opened the gate. The drive from the gate took about another ten minutes before they finally reached the main house. Ace opened the car door quickly and helped Luffy out. Luffy looked up at the big house, mouth agape in shock. _This isn't even a mansion it's a castle!_ Ace chuckled at Luffy's surprised expression. The house had columns that reminded Luffy of the kind they had in Ancient Greece. Luffy walked up the stairs and looked at the finely trimmed rose bushes. _This house is amazing! I wonder if it's from Ancient Greece or something!_

"You don't need to be so surprised." Luffy shook his head, "This is the biggest house I've ever seen!" Thatch, opened the door for Ace and Luffy and led them into one of the lesser dining rooms. The room contained a single crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, several bookshelves filled to the brim with books, and a grand oak wood table in the middle. Ace sat down next to the window which had an excellent view of the rose garden. Luffy looked at the marble floor, unsure of the proper etiquette in such a western home. _Should I take my shoes off? I'm so confused_. Luffy sat down next to Ace, _Why do they need such a big table?_ _Why are there books in the dining room?_

"S-so Luffy, did anything else happen in the mountains?" Luffy shrugged, "There was the time I got eaten by a snake, or maybe that time I got chased by a wild boar. But those kinds of things happened even when you were there, so nothing really unusual." Thatch opened the door and set a piece of pecan pie in front of Luffy and Ace.

"I was unsure of whether you had any food allergies, are you allergic to nuts? If so I can take it back and exchange it for Lemon meringue." Luffy looked at the pie, his mouth watering at the sight of the delicious pie. _Lemon meringue sounds pretty good too_.

"Can I have a slice of the Lemon meringue to?" Luffy grinned up at him. Thatch smiled, "But of course, you can have as much as you want. Feel free to make yourself at home, Luffy-san is after all Ace's long lost brother."

"He told you already?" Luffy was surprised to hear that. Thatch smiled and nodded, "Newgate-sama has permitted you to stay here as long as you wish."

"You told father?" Ace frowned, Thatch always had to go and tell his father everything he did. Thatch nodded, and quickly left the room.

"Something wrong Ace?" Ace shook his head and smiled.

"It's nothing really important. I was just surprised Thatch told my old man I had a brother." Luffy frowned, _Ace has been acting weird lately. Maybe he really is sick, or maybe he has a brain tumor!_ Luffy walked over to Ace and touched his forehead to Ace's. _At least he doesn't have a fever_.

"Ace you don't have a fever, so why are you turning red?" Luffy gasped, _maybe he really does have a brain tumor!_ Luffy hugged Ace, "Ace you can't die on me! Don't die don't worry I'll do whatever I can to help you!"

"Y-you don't have to worry Luffy, I won't die. I'm not sick. C-can you let go of me now?" Luffy sniffled, "I don't want Ace to die though." Luffy embraced Ace harder, and was practically sitting on Ace's lap which only further made Ace's mind turn to mush on what to do. _Oh my god, Luffy!_ Luffy snuggled into Ace's chest, "I don't want you to die." Ace sighed and patted Luffy's silky hair to calm him down, he really didn't understand how Luffy could always jump to random conclusions. He wrapped his arms around Luffy to give the younger a firm hug like he used to because Luffy was almost in tears.

"It's okay. I'm not going to die." Luffy almost shook from the intensity of Ace's gaze, it made his chest feel weird. Thatch opened the door, "Luffy-san I've brought the lemon mering-." He looked at the scene in blatant amusement with a smug smirk across his face, "I'm sorry for interrupting. I'll tell the others not to disturb you so feel free to continue." Luffy turned around quickly, "Thanks for the pie!" Thatch nodded and walked out of the room.

Luffy giggled, "Thatch, is a weird guy." He shifted his weight so he was sitting on Ace's lap like he used to do when he was a kid, though with being fully grown it meant he was straddling Ace's lap facing towards him. Ace shifted uncomfortably beneath him and picked up his piece of pie to turn his attention. Luffy swiftly stole the pie from his hands, "You're sick, so I'll feed you. Here say ahh~" Ace slowly opened his mouth and Luffy gently fed him the piece of the pie. "Do want a piece of my lemon to?" Luffy picked up the piece of lemon meringue and put a slice in his mouth. "It's pretty good. Do you want to try some or not?" Before Ace could responder Luffy stuffed a piece of pie into Ace's mouth. "Do you like it? I thought it was pretty good." Luffy put another piece inside his mouth and almost moaned at how heavenly it tasted.

"Luffy, don't you think it's time to get off my lap?" Luffy shrugged and slowly got off Ace's lap. There was a knock at the door, "I'm terribly sorry to disturb you, but the private jet is ready." Luffy opened the door and licked the meringue off his lips, "Can I have another piece of pie?" Ace pulled his brother back and put his arm around Luffy's shoulder, silently daring Thatch to say another word. Thatch smiled, "I had a feeling you would ask that." He signaled a maid who brought over a packaged box, "I'll lead you to the jet." Thatch led them outside into the huge garden filled with various vegetables and fruits. Luffy couldn't help snatching up the strawberry from on top of the pie and quickly putting it in his mouth.

"We're here, please feel free to board. We have prepared a lobster meal for you to dine on during your flight. Feel free to watch any movies or play any games." Luffy walked up the stairs next to Ace. The inside of the jet had four tanned leather recliner chairs, a flat screen TV, and several black cases filled with the latest action games and movies. Ace sat down on one of the chairs. Luffy hugged him again, "Are you sure you're feeling all right? I'm really worried, if we need to take you to a hospital or anything, just let me know."

"L-luffy I'm really all right. It's just been really hot lately, so I turn red really fast."

Luffy looked relieved, "Oh, is that why? I thought you had a brain tumor! I'm so glad you're all right!" Luffy happily sat down on the chair next to his. "Do you want to play a game? What kind of game station do you have?"

"Xbox. You can try playing Skyrim, it's a really fun game, I think you'll like it. I'll help you get through the levels, since I've already completed it twice, it should be pretty easy."

"I heard that game is really hard though."

"Nonsense, it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Here go ahead and put the game in," Ace said as he handed the disk to Luffy. Luffy, walked over to the Xbox and gently slid the game into the game station.

 _"All passengers please buckle your seat belts for takeoff. All passengers please buckle your seat belts for takeoff."_ Luffy excitedly ran back to his seat and sat down buckling his seat belt. "This is the first time I've ridden in a plane! It's kind of exciting and scary at the same time!" Ace smiled softly, he had truly missed this.


End file.
